When I googled how to survive a graduate seminar, I found a zillion different websites with a zillion different opinions. I realized that I could spend my entire graduate career reading tips on how to survive graduate seminars and graduate school more broadly. And at that place would still be more to read out at that place!

But here's the best slice of communication I e'er received on how to survive in a graduate seminar: learn how you learn. Try out a strategy, appraise if and how information technology might piece of work for you lot, and then keep what's useful and discard what's not. Learning how you larn is actually how yous survive in a graduate seminar (and graduate school and academia)!

Learning is a conscious, deliberate, and engaged process, and while it's non the same for any ii people, foresight and organization tin can aid just about everyone become set for a graduate seminar each week. And then here is my strategy for being intentional, expedient, and effective when you read for seminar (or for reading historical monographs more generally).

Y'all don't have to read every word. Your instinct may be to read every give-and-take of every volume. Each author took the time to write each and every word so they must all exist of import, correct? The answer to that question is the historian's favorite answer: "aye and no" and "it'southward complicated."

Aye, the author'south words are important. But no, each word and judgement in a book is not as important. And, chiefly, you do non need to give each word an equal amount of attention and mental energy. At that place is not enough time in a week – and it is simply not necessary – to shop every sentence, example, or argument in a historical monograph in your long-term memory (or even in your notes).

Ane strategy to sift through all the information and pull out what'southward of import is to write abbreviations while you lot read. I write in the margin of books when I am reading, but using mail-its or keeping a piece of newspaper with corresponding page numbers works just besides. These abbreviations represent to information that I know I will need for seminar. (These criteria can change depending on your sub-field or your kinesthesia member'southward expectations).

  • "T" = Thesis (writer's overarching statement in the book or commodity)
  • "Arg" = argument to back up the thesis (normally 1-2 in each affiliate or section of a journal article)
  • "S" = primary sources (archival or otherwise)
  • "Howdy" = historiographical intervention (what the author is doing that other scholars have not done before, what is new or innovative almost this volume—for instance, a new source base, methodological approach, geography, timespan, etc.)
  • "M" = methodology (what theoretical framework or lens the author is using to analyze their sources)
  • "RQ" = research question (the question the author is trying to answer and the parameters of answering that question)
  • "CR" = criticism (this indicates places where I think the writer is falling short. For instance, if the author seems to exist stretching their evidence or has left something out that should take been included to answer their RQ. Remember that skilful criticisms don't ask the author to do something they didn't intend to do; they assess the piece of work inside the bounds of its intentions and offer articulate, specific examples to support the criticism.)
  • "FRQ" = Hereafter Inquiry Question (places where new ideas come to my mind, such as unlike inquiry subjects or questions that scholars could pursue every bit a follow up to this writer's work).

Create a reward system that motivates y'all. I place a post-it at the end of each affiliate then I know approximately how many pages I take left to read. I utilize these postal service-its as benchmarks – equally mini-motivators to become through my reading. Sometimes I add other motivators, such as a timer to challenge myself to read more than expediently—I rarely get the work washed within the time limit I set only simply having the timer forces me to read more quickly. And, finally, I almost always plan a reward for myself for when I get to a mail-information technology (a small victory!). For example, I'll tell myself: "when I finish this chapter, I'll get get a loving cup of tea" or "when I get through this section, I tin eat a cookie" or "when I finish the book, I will accept a walk with my dog."

Add Post-It Notes to the ends of capacity to motivate yourself and runway your progress.

Use the author's language to strop in on important sections. As you read, look for important passages where y'all should place an abbreviation (and where yous'll need to focus on what the author is staying then that the information gets stored in your long-term retentiveness). You might find that the linguistic communication that precedes these passages is predictable. For case, "scholars have studied x, y, or z from a, b, or c perspectives" is likely where you're going to observe a historiographical intervention.

The historiographical intervention normally appears in the introduction.

The location of the important information in a book is somewhat predictable. You lot're likely to find nigh of the cardinal information in the introduction and conclusion or epilogue. And, the sub-arguments that back up an writer'south overarching thesis are normally institute in the first few and last few paragraphs of each chapter. You'll want to read more than than just these sections to fully empathise the author's points, merely at the very least (if you are pressed for fourth dimension) make sure you advisedly read and focus on these important parts of every book.

Summarize as you become. At the end of each affiliate, I hand write between two and five sentences that summarize the chapter'south statement and how that affiliate supports the volume's overarching thesis (which I write out at the end of the introduction). I only give myself most five minutes to exercise this because time is scarce in grad school and information technology'southward more important to accept a decent summary of each book than 1 perfectly eloquent summary of a single chapter. They usually look something similar the image to the left (consummate with partial thoughts, fragmented sentences, and about unreadable penmanship!).

Brand the procedure your ain. When I've finished an unabridged book and made hand-written notes throughout, I get through these terminal steps:

  1. I sit down and type out the end-of-chapter summaries that I previously paw wrote in my book. Check out my book notes template hither. If you do this step, it gives y'all a chance to correct any incomplete sentences or misspellings, and jot downwardly folio numbers with important passages, including each chapter's argument.
  2. I type out the overarching argument of the book. (I await back at what I scribbled afterwards reading the intro and compare information technology to what I noted when I finished the determination and typed my chapter summaries.)
  3. I become back through the volume, looking for my other symbols (ex. "Southward," "Hello," "RQ," etc.) and type these into my notes with corresponding folio numbers.
  4. I then type, every bit bullet points, my ideas about the book's weaknesses ("CR"), strengths, and future research questions ("FRQ"), including folio numbers where I've found examples to back up my analysis.
A quick glance at the endnote associated with the paragraph where I wrote "FRQ" tin let me know if a topic has already been explored.

5. I also expect back at the Research Question (RQ) and Historiographical Intervention (Hello) and make sure the Criticisms (CRs) and/or Hereafter Research Questions (FRQs) that I've included in my notes are well evidenced. For example, that I'm not criticizing the writer unduly by enlarging their scope beyond the parameters they gear up or coming up with an FRQ that someone else has probably already studied. In curt, I check the parameters of my CR and reassess the claim of my FRQs.

six. If I have time, I re-read what I've typed, ensuring that my notes are as precise and concise as possible. (I aim to keep them no more than 2 pages long.) As I practise this, I remind myself to trust my own retentivity. I'll remember the small details if they're relevant to the discussion, which means I can limit what I'm putting in my notes to the large, really of import takeaways from the book. In curt, I try to write down only what is new to me then that I'thou not overwhelmed by the length or organization of my notes afterward on.

vii. Finally, I print my notes and go to seminar. There, I participate in the discussion and make any necessary corrections or additions to my typed book notes — and at that place are always both because I'm a fallible man and I've pushed myself to be expedient! This revision is crucial so that when I go back to my book notes weeks, months, or even years afterwards, I'm sure to observe the author's argument and other key details equally precisely every bit possible.

Just think, consistency and intentions are key! Preparing for graduate seminars can be overwhelming—yous usually accept ane-2 books to read in improver to scholarly articles, supplemental readings, and/or any written assignments that are due. Simply seminars are not meant to be incommunicable. Take time to learn how y'all acquire and make it your intention to keep improving your strategy to read efficiently and accept notes finer. Paying attention to how you (and not merely the historical events you're studying) change-over-time is an important part of graduate schoolhouse, as is continuity in your commitment to read and take meaningful notes and then stick with it. You've got this!